Tribute concert for Raju tomorrow

Disciples of late Kannada singer and music composer Raju Ananthaswamy are organising a concert in his memory on Saturday.

The event, titled ‘Raju Gaanothsava’, marks his 51st birth anniversary.

His great grandfather Chikkarama Rao was a court musician at the Mysore palace. His grandmother Kamalamma was a singer of classical music and devaranama. His father Mysore Ananthaswamy popularised sugama sangeeta and he took that legacy forward.

City-based music trust Naakuthanti Sangeetha Guccha has been organising the commemorative concert every year since 2009. The trust is run by siblings Madhu Manoharan and Karthik Pandavapur.

This year, singers Arundhati Vasishta, P Shruti V S and Alaka Subrahmanya will perform his songs. They were contestants of the first season of music reality show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Kannada’. The first season was curated by Raju. Popular singers Suma Shastry, Praveen B V and Sriraksha Priyaram, as also Madhu, Karthik and their students, are slated to perform.

Talking about Raju, Madhu says, “He had a knack for spotting talent. Singers like M D Pallavi, Supriya Raghunandan, and Mangala Ravi were his students. His tunes were inventive and futuristic.”

‘Raju Gaanothsava’, on April 20, 6.30 pm, Samsa Bayalu Ranga
Mandira, J C Road. Entry free.